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More women receive physics PhDs than ever before

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10 March 2014

The representation of women among new PhDs has reached an all-time high in the class of 2012. In the class of 2012, 20% of the physics PhDs were earned by women, while they earned only 13% of new physics PhDs 11 years earlier. This increase, along with growth in the overall number of physics PhDs awarded, has resulted in a surge in the number of women receiving degrees. Women earned 354 of the physics PhDs in the class of 2012, up from only 153 in 2001 (a 131% increase).

The SRC has recently published a report: Trends in Physics PhDs. This report provides an in-depth analysis of physics PhD production in the United States. It presents detailed trends including data on women, citizenship, and minorities. It also includes data on recent PhD recipients such as time to degree, subfield of dissertation, and general satisfaction with degree.

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